AUGUST 29 - Poor Breehy, Strange Plants, and All's Well That Ends Well

Day Off Number 1 - and even though I didn't really feel like going for a long bike ride, I sat in front of the computer to find a destination interesting enough to motivate me. It seems the really fun places to go now are way way far away, but  I did find a park and Community Garden not very far away at all, within 5 km, so decided to do that short trip, come back home, and head to Walmart for some yummy dead beast for dinner.

So, all set. Berry tub (just in case) in bike basket, phone, camera - all the usual stuff - and away we go. Until we reach the sidewalk, and I decide for some reason, to feel Breehy's front tire. Oh. Flattish. I think Howard's words last week jinxed me. So back to the house with a change of plans - a walk to Zellers or Canadian Tire to find a bike pump and a patch kit. I switched the berry tub for my little Salt Beef Pail since there are tons of blackberry bushes between here and there, and off we went.

Since I found a bike pump at Zellers, I didn't bother going to CT, although I probably should have, to buy a Patch Kit. Instead, I meandered down the street, checking out strip malls on the way home. I did find Sabzi Mandi, a really nice market/grocery store.

They have a great selection of fruit and veggies at very good prices, a lot of East Indian food, a meat counter, and some kitchen stuff - plus Strawberry Custard Powder, and that was well worth the detour.  One of my Scotland memories is Strawberry custard, and I haven't been able to find any at all in this great country.  I think I'll be a sort-of regular customer in the future. When I travel with Georgia.

Walking down King George Boulevard, I pass a business with a landscaped edging and saw this plant -

I would think it's a Viagra Plant, but I'm not sure. If my youngest son, the landscaper, ever reads my blog, he'll probably tell me the Latin name for it.

I have heard so many good things about Tim Horton's new Panini sandwiches, I thought I'd drop in on my way home, as it was just after noon and my tummy was rumbling. However when my turn came to order, I find out this particular location doesn't offer the paninis, so I just said 'Okay, thanks,' and left. I wasn't even tempted by a Donut or a Muffin.  Although right now I wish I had brought home a dozen. Of each.

So then it was Blackberry picking time. About the only place I'm not afraid of spiders is in a blackberry patch, although I don't like it when my face gets webbed with a guy wire of spider thread - I always imagine the hugest spider in the pack just jack-knifing onto my head or my shoulder. It usually results in me doing a lively version of an electric shock dance as I try to shake off a potential visitor. I managed to get some extra juicy berries from farther in the bushes than usual, as I was wearing a sweater that protected my arms from the terribly prickly stems, although my fingers and legs didn't do so well. It is a very dangerous hobby.

I don't know why hundreds of people aren't out picking these berries. A Chinese couple stopped and asked me what the berries were good for, and stupidly enough I told them. Oh well, there seem to be enough to share, as they are growing wild all over the place.

When I got home, a few cups of blackberries richer, I pumped up that front tire - but the air wouldn't stay in. Either that, or I only thought I was pumping up the tire, and was actually just swooshing air into the .... well, air. So I booked an appointment with my local neighbourhood bike tire specialist, Steve, who said he'd fix it for me after work.

However, when I went to Steve's 'after work' he was draped on the couch like a squirt of liquid cheese on a cracker (which happens to be one of my favourite lines from that old classic THE CLOTHESLINE WARS.) This pose let me know how tuckered out he was from his day, so I was just going to let him be, and maybe ask Howard to fix the tire on the weekend, which would be a very iffy possibility. However, Steve did came down later in the evening. He decided it would be easier to do the job at his place,  so he used the little pump I bought at Zellers (which definitely wasn't the Cadillac of Pumps) to pump up the tire enough to get him home. I was a bit disappointed the picture I took of him riding up the road on my pretty pink bike holding the can of beer his daddy gave him didn't come out. Bummer. You'll just have to imagine it.

Anyway, I found out he had never changed a tire before. His reasoning? He hardly ever had a flat tire, and besides, he had two older brothers. He did do a good job though, and even fixed my brakes. And there were no extra pieces lying around when he was done. So Kudos to Steve. Breehy says 'Thankya.'